The End of an Era
by katiebee93
Summary: This story is a third person account of a day many years after Edward left Bella. He never went to Italy and he never returned for her. This story is about a pivotal event in both of their lives which I do not want to give away in the summary! Oneshot!


It was gray out and the rain was pouring down just as was to be expected in Forks, Washington

The End of an Era

By

Katiebee993

It was gray out and the rain was pouring down just as was to be expected in Forks, Washington. The car pulled quickly into the almost full parking lot. The driver of the car got out. It was a young, extremely handsome young man with bronze hair. He was dressed in an immaculate suit and looked completely put together except for his hair, which stood in a messy sense of disarray. The man walked slowly towards the door of the dark green building that stood in stark contrast with the grayness of its surroundings. The man reached the door and drew to a stop. He paused for a moment, and then taking a deep breath he opened the door and entered the building.

The room he walked into was warm and comforting, but did little to put him at ease. He walked up to the maple counter and cleared his throat to attract the attention of the young woman standing behind it. Startled she looked up and found herself gazing into the face of the most handsome man she had ever set eyes upon. "May I help you sir?" she managed to stammer out. "I am looking for the funeral of Isabella Swan." He replied just loud enough for her to hear. "I'm sorry, but I do not see that event listed here, let me ask." The woman walked quickly out from behind the desk and into the small office that was around the corner in the hall. A few moments later she came back out followed by another woman, who looked to be in her mid fifties. "You said you were looking for Isabella Swan's funeral?" She said to the man. He nodded. "Well I guess that you must mean Isabella Black, I believe Swan was her maiden name. Does that sound right to you?" Once again the man nodded, then said, "Yes, thank you." The woman then said, "well her funeral started about fifteen minutes ago, but if you go in quietly you can stand in the back, it was quite full."

"That would be great." Said the man.

The woman began to walk quietly down the hall until she reached an open door through which the voice of the preacher could be heard. The man nodded his thanks and hesitatingly walked in the door. Nobody noticed his quiet entrance except for the preacher who seamlessly continued his Eulogy. The man slid into a spot at the back of the wall and surveyed the room. Every one of the seats in the room was full and the walls were lined leaving just enough room for the man.

"While your grief is understandable, we must understand that Bella would not have wanted it. She lived a wonderful life filled with her family and friends. Bella was a kind soul; she laughed often and put joy in the lives of many. While this occasion is certainly a sad one it should also be a joyous one, for Bella has now joined her beloved husband Jacob in a happier place."

As the preacher continued the sounds of crying could be heard throughout the room, and anyone who would have looked to see the late arrival would have seen him pinching the bridge of nose, and although there were no tears in his eyes, anyone who looked closely would have easily been able to see his grief. The preacher began to sum up his speech, "now if you would all join me in listening to a composition that Bella asked to be played at her funeral."

The sound of a piano filled the room, causing a new outbreak of tears, especially from the front row where the family sat. The man heard the music and his breathing became unsteady, the man next to him noticed this and reassuringly patted the man's arm. As the melodic lullaby came to an end the man struggled to regain control of his breathing. The preacher walked back up to the stand and said, "Now let us all bow our heads and pray for the soul of our beloved Isabella Black." The entire room bowed their heads for a few moments then the preacher said, "I would now like to turn the stand over to a few people." A young man rose and walked up to the stand where he shook hands with the preacher and was pulled into a hug. He took the stand and began, "Isabella, Bella, Black was my mother. She was the kindest most caring person that I have ever met. She was there for me from when I had chicken pox, through my rebellious teen years, the day that I proposed to my wife, and the night that my lovely daughter was born. She was there for me through thick and thing. I remember the night before I was to propose to Lily, I was scared stiff that she would say no, so I went running home to my mommy." This earned a smile and a few titters from the crowd. "She told 'you are the most wonderful son that a mother could ever have, how could _any _woman say no to you!' I will forever remember her telling me that and it is thanks to my mother that I had the courage to ask Lily for her hand, and it is because of my mother that I now have a wife and daughter. My mother was my rock, and I will forever miss her, but I now that she will be happy up there in heaven with dad." The young man walked back to his seat with tears streaming down his face.

In the back of the room the man who had walked in late, once again had grief in his eyes. He looked down at his lap, wondering what he had ever been thinking to leave that wonderful woman, but knowing all the same that he was glad that he had because otherwise she never would have gotten to experience children, grandchildren, and the rest of the things he could never have given her. Coming back to the present and the funeral room the man noticed that there was now a young woman up at the stand.

"Bella Black was my mother, but she was also my best friend. She was with me through everything. One memory that stands out at me happened when I was just barely eighteen. I had just been dumped the man, who at the time, I thought was the love of my life. I had come home and was lying in my room crying when my mother walked in. She said to me something that to this day I have yet to forget, 'Sarah,' she said, 'I will not say to you that it wasn't love, because I'm sure that it was, I will not tell you to forget about him, because I know how hard that is, and I will not tell you how he is not worth it and you are too good for him, because although that is true, it is not what you need to hear. What you need to hear is the truth. It will be hard, you will cry yourself to sleep many nights, and you may even fall apart at the sound of a song, or a movie that reminds you of him, but you will get past this. You will survive and you will eventually move on.' My mother then proceeded to hold me all night while I cried until I could not cry anymore. Around four in the morning when my tears had finally stopped and I could talk again I asked her how she came up with all of that. Her response to me was that she knew what it felt like to lose the one that you love and that she had lost the love of her life when she was my age and that it had almost broken her, but that then she had met my father and he had fixed her. She also said to me 'some days will be harder than others, and there will be nights even twenty years from now when you are married and have a family of your own, where you will fall asleep crying for the one you lost.' By this point the woman was crying profusely as was most of the audience. "In this one night I learned more about my mother than I had in my entire life. I had always thought that we had nothing in common, but on this night I learned that we really were the same person. I will always remember this night where I learned that my mother really was just like me and I will always remember my best friend, my mother, Isabella Black." The young woman finished and returned to her seat next to a man who wrapped his arm around her as soon as she sat down.

In the back of the room, the man who had walked in late had his head in his hands and was silently dry sobbing. He had never realized what the results of his actions all those years ago had been and how badly he had hurt the only woman he could ever love.

A few more speakers got up and talked about what a difference Bella had made in their lives and how much she would be missed, then the preacher once again took the stand, inviting the congregation to come up and speak with the family and to view Isabella Black one last time before heading to the Black house for refreshments.

The man who had been the last to enter was the first to leave. He walked out of the room just as he had walked into the room, noticed by no one, but the preacher. He started to walk out of the funeral home, but was unable to make himself so instead he walked down to the other end of the deserted hall where he waited until every last member of the room, including the family, had left. Then the man walked back into the room and up to the front where the still open casket lay. He walked slowly to its edge and peered in at the old woman inside of it. "You lived a decent long life, everything I would have wanted for you. You got married, had children, had grandchildren. You never would have had all that if I hadn't left you." The man said this last line as if he was trying to convince himself of its truth. After a pause he continued, "I'm sorry though, if I had known that I would have caused you that much pain, I just never thought that you could love me that much. I never thought that you would remember me; human memories fade. So I'm sorry, I truly am. I love you Isabella Marie Swan, I always have and always will, forever." The man finished and bowed his head. He walked out of the room for the final time and this time he did not turn back.

The preacher walked out of his office that was right behind the room in which the funeral had been held, and from which he had heard every word of the man. Although he had not understood everything that the man had said and he did not know how the eighty-eight year old who never left Forks would have known this young stranger, he was still moved to tears by the man's words. The preacher walked to the casket and closed the lid. The preacher then walked out of the room turning the lights out and closing the door behind him. The door clicked closed with finality, signaling not only the end of Isabella Marie Swan Black's life, but also the end of the existence of Edward Anthony Masen Cullen for there would be sunny skies in Volterra tomorrow.


End file.
